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Elemental Genesis MKII Twin Head Kit @ £350
Finally decided to invest in some studio lighting and thought I’d give a quick review on the service and gear. Please bear in mind this is the only lighting kit I’ve ever used so this is not a comparison with any other make as I wouldn’t know and I don’t do reviews so please bear with me! lol
Studio lighting is new to me so I was looking at a 200-250w kit with at least two heads. Despite a fair old amount of research and digging, I was still undecided between Lencarta and Elemental. As Lencarta were out of stock, I gave Elemental a call to see what the situation was with the Genesis Range.
After a good and surprisingly unbiased chat with Danny from Elemental (who was very supportive of other brands if I may add), the kit was in stock and he convinced me that he would do his best to make sure I received the gear on Saturday (next day from a Friday order). He fulfilled his promise and the Elemental Genesis MKII Twin Head Kit arrived this morning!
Like a man possessed, the wife was banned from the living room as I set about unwrapping the packages which brings me to my first observation; it was very well packaged and I can't believe how much stuff came out that box.
Everything feels of very good quality from the spring loaded stands to the light heads themselves, even the carry bags are of tough nylon material. After a quick check, nothing was missing and I set about putting it all together.
The stands and lamps are straight forward to put together even for me, despite a slight lack of assembly instructions. Operating instructions are included along with technical details etc.
The octagonal softbox (nicer for catchlights I was told and I can see it now when I look at the photos) almost shot out my window and became a UFO as I tried to assemble it and then realised it was much easier if the Velcro strips at the base were not fastened – this could be a good point to mention in the assembly video on their website to help prevent people bending the rods too much before realising [maybe it’s just me being stupid though]. The material of the soft box and umbrella is tough and I’ve got no fear of rips or tears.
The remote trigger fitted easily on my hot-shoe and the receiver plugged in to the flash unit (the other one using the built-in light sensitive dome for triggering) without any problems.
After about 20 minutes everything was assembled and I was ready to shoot, which is just as well my camera shy wife had done a runner and next in line was becoming a little bored.....
Took a few test shots and everything worked perfectly, I had to turn the power down to around ¼ for each unit so I’ve no worries about future power requirements.
Here’s a quick shot (the magic word “biscuit” being said) of my Beagle who was quite mesmerised by the umbrella!
In all honesty, I’m quite taken back by how much stuff you get for the money. It feels of high quality materials, there's a wide range of controls giving you a lot of flexibility, is easy to assemble and even easier to use – quite literally plug and play! The best part was that it took less than 10 minutes to pack it all away into the neat and spacious padded bag (except the softbox) ready for transport or storage.
All in all, excellent kit and considering how cynical I can be that’s not too bad at all! Right, now I need to learn how to actually use the gear properly! Lol
Thanks for reading
Graham
Finally decided to invest in some studio lighting and thought I’d give a quick review on the service and gear. Please bear in mind this is the only lighting kit I’ve ever used so this is not a comparison with any other make as I wouldn’t know and I don’t do reviews so please bear with me! lol
Studio lighting is new to me so I was looking at a 200-250w kit with at least two heads. Despite a fair old amount of research and digging, I was still undecided between Lencarta and Elemental. As Lencarta were out of stock, I gave Elemental a call to see what the situation was with the Genesis Range.
After a good and surprisingly unbiased chat with Danny from Elemental (who was very supportive of other brands if I may add), the kit was in stock and he convinced me that he would do his best to make sure I received the gear on Saturday (next day from a Friday order). He fulfilled his promise and the Elemental Genesis MKII Twin Head Kit arrived this morning!
Like a man possessed, the wife was banned from the living room as I set about unwrapping the packages which brings me to my first observation; it was very well packaged and I can't believe how much stuff came out that box.
Everything feels of very good quality from the spring loaded stands to the light heads themselves, even the carry bags are of tough nylon material. After a quick check, nothing was missing and I set about putting it all together.
The stands and lamps are straight forward to put together even for me, despite a slight lack of assembly instructions. Operating instructions are included along with technical details etc.
The octagonal softbox (nicer for catchlights I was told and I can see it now when I look at the photos) almost shot out my window and became a UFO as I tried to assemble it and then realised it was much easier if the Velcro strips at the base were not fastened – this could be a good point to mention in the assembly video on their website to help prevent people bending the rods too much before realising [maybe it’s just me being stupid though]. The material of the soft box and umbrella is tough and I’ve got no fear of rips or tears.
The remote trigger fitted easily on my hot-shoe and the receiver plugged in to the flash unit (the other one using the built-in light sensitive dome for triggering) without any problems.
After about 20 minutes everything was assembled and I was ready to shoot, which is just as well my camera shy wife had done a runner and next in line was becoming a little bored.....
Took a few test shots and everything worked perfectly, I had to turn the power down to around ¼ for each unit so I’ve no worries about future power requirements.
Here’s a quick shot (the magic word “biscuit” being said) of my Beagle who was quite mesmerised by the umbrella!
In all honesty, I’m quite taken back by how much stuff you get for the money. It feels of high quality materials, there's a wide range of controls giving you a lot of flexibility, is easy to assemble and even easier to use – quite literally plug and play! The best part was that it took less than 10 minutes to pack it all away into the neat and spacious padded bag (except the softbox) ready for transport or storage.
All in all, excellent kit and considering how cynical I can be that’s not too bad at all! Right, now I need to learn how to actually use the gear properly! Lol
Thanks for reading
Graham
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